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Conceptual physical education (CPE) classes have been widely offered to promote a healthy lifestyle in higher education settings. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of a CPE course on health-related fitness (HRF) levels among college freshmen.

A pre- and post-test research design was used. In total, 50 freshmen in a US university were enrolled in a 13-week CPE course. Their HRF levels were assessed by the Fitnessgram at the beginning and the end of the course.

Students significantly enhanced their aerobic capacity, upper-body muscle strength and endurance, abdominal muscle strength and endurance, and decreased body fat percentage. No significant improvement in flexibility was found among the total sample. However, non-kinesiology students significantly enhanced their flexibility while the opposite trend was found among kinesiology students. Female students reduced more body fat percentage, while male students increased their aerobic capacity more rapidly than their female counterparts.

The CPE course could yield significant improvement in HRF among freshmen, regardless of sex or major. Universities may consider offering CPE courses for all students and mandate such courses as a degree requirement.

This empirical study investigated HRF level changes that occurred after a CPE course intervention among college freshmen. Sex and major difference in HRF changes were revealed. The interventions included in the CPE course could help improve freshmen's HRF levels in future intervention programs in a similar setting.

The outsole of a running shoe must provide enough traction for the athlete to avoid slipping during running. What is unknown is whether there is any point to designing running shoe outsoles with traction above this minimum required traction. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether performance could be enhanced by increasing the outsole traction of a running shoe. A commercially available running shoe (Control) was compared against the same shoe model with the outsole modified with a higher traction rubber (High Traction). The available traction of each shoe was measured with a traction testing system. Twenty male athletes completed a maximal effort timed running course in both shoes on two different surfaces. When wearing the Control running shoe, the athletes were able to complete the course on an asphalt road surface at maximal effort without slipping. When completing the same course wearing the High Traction shoe, the subjects were able to perform the course even faster. Therefore, the results show that the role of running shoe outsole traction is not to merely provide adequate traction to avoid large scale slips, but can also help athletes enhance performance of high-traction tasks such as accelerations and changes in direction.

The purpose of this study is to qualitatively explore and describe the social environment of CrossFit®.

A total of 6 focus groups (n = 48) and 16 interviews were held with CrossFit® participants, coaches and owners. Each focus group or interview was facilitated by trained members of the research team. After data collection was complete, four trained researchers analyzed transcriptions using an open coding method to derive themes from responses, followed by inter-rater reliability checks to ensure consistency in data analysis.

Five themes emerged including: support (the social capital community members received from others through CrossFit®, including encouragement, coaching and accountability); culture (describes how CrossFit® as a community embraces a variety of skill levels and members experience a sense of camaraderie, acceptance and shared goals); social aspect (ways CrossFit® incorporates and extends community through a welcoming environment and fostering relationships building); competition (competing with others and oneself at CrossFit® is key to motivation and success at the gym); and barriers to community (ways CrossFit® can at times be intimidating).

Although exploratory, this study suggests the importance of CrossFit®’s social environment for a participant’s experience. Future research could determine how relationships within CrossFit® relate to health outcomes.

This research is original and important to the field of mental health as it explores how CrossFit® can be leveraged as a strategy to promote social inclusion. CrossFit® provides an environment that promotes healthy habits such as community involvement and exercise.

This chapter explores the emergence, growth, and current status of the sociology of sport in Canada. Such an endeavour includes acknowledging the work and efforts of Canadian scholars – whether Canadian by birth or naturalization or just as a result of their geographic location – who have contributed to the vibrant and robust academic discipline that is the sociology of sport in Canadian institutions coast-to-coast, and who have advanced the socio-cultural study of sport globally in substantial ways. This chapter does not provide an exhaustive description and analysis of the past and present states of the sociology of sport in Canada; in fact, it is important to note that an in-depth, critical and comprehensive analysis of our field in Canada is sorely lacking. Rather, this chapter aims to highlight the major historical drivers (both in terms of people and trends) of the field in Canada; provide a snapshot of the sociology of sport in Canada currently; and put forth some ideas as to future opportunities and challenges for the field in Canada.

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a sport-leadership program on minority incarcerated young adults’ health-related fitness markers.

This study occurred at an all-male juvenile detention center. A total of 41 participants in this study were obtained from a sample of 103 incarcerated young adults. Data collection entailed body mass index (BMI) evaluation, cardiovascular endurance tests and 1-min pushups and situps at two different time periods (before and after three months). A 2 × 2 mixed factorial analysis of variances was used to test for differences among the within subjects’ factors (time [pre × post]) and between subjects’ factors (groups [flex × control]) for the above-mentioned dependent variables.

Over the course of three consecutive months of engagement, preliminary indications demonstrated participants had a slight reduction in BMI and significant increases in cardiovascular endurance and muscle strength. Contrarily, during this same time period, non-participating young adults exhibited significant increases in BMI and decreases in cardiovascular endurance and muscle strength.

Integration of sport-leadership programs is generally not free but can be a low-cost alternative for combatting many issues surrounding physical activity, weight gain and recreational time for those incarcerated.

As universities grapple with broadening participation of women in science, many ADVANCE funded institutions hone in on transforming search committee practices to better consider dual-career partners and affirmative action hires (“opportunity hires”). To date, there is a lack of empirical research on the consequences and processes underlying such a focus. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether and how two ADVANCE-recommended hiring practices, dual-career hiring and affirmative action hiring, help or hinder women’s participation in academic science.

In two experiments, the authors tested what happens to a science candidate’s evaluation and offer when that candidate reveals he or she has a dual-career partner (vs is a solo-candidate, Experiment 1) or if it is revealed that the candidate under review is the dual-hire partner or is a target of opportunity hire (vs primary candidate, Experiment 2). A random US national sample of academic scientists provided anonymous external recommendations to an ostensible faculty search committee.

Evaluators supported the job offer to a primary candidate requiring a heterosexual partner accommodation. This good news, however, was offset by the results of Experiment 2, which showed that support for the partner or affirmative action candidate depended on the evaluator’s gender. Taken together, the research identifies important personal and contextual features that sometimes do – and sometimes do not – impact hiring perceptions of women in science.

The authors believe the effects of such an emphasis on opportunity hires within ADVANCE funded institutions may be considerable and inform changes to policies and practices that help bring about gender equality.

The brand equity pyramid is a theory that explains how people develop loyalty and an attachment to a brand. The purpose of this study is to test whether the predictions made by the theory hold when applied to the brand of ParticipACTION, a Canadian non-profit organization that promotes active living. A secondary objective was to test whether this theory predicted intentions to be more physically active.

A research agency conducted a cross-sectional, online brand health survey on behalf of ParticipACTION. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis established the factor structure. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized model.

A nationally representative sample of Canadian adults (N = 1,191) completed the survey. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis supported a hypothesized five-factor brand equity framework (i.e. brand identity, brand meaning, brand responses, brand resonance and intentions). A series of structural equation models also provided support for the hypothesized relationships between the variables.

Though preliminary, the results provide a guide for understanding the branding process in the activity-promotion context. The constructs identified as being influential in this process can be targeted by activity-promotion organizations to improve brand strength. A strong organizational brand could augment activity-promotion interventions. A strong brand may also help the organization better compete against other brands promoting messages that are antithetical to their own.

This is the first study to test the brand equity pyramid using an activity-promotion brand. Results demonstrate that the brand equity pyramid may be useful in this context.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the spending patterns of non‐local participants and spectators at a medium‐sized international sport event, to segment their spending patterns and consider implications for the quality of each segment's event experience.

Spending in nine sectors of the economy is measured via self‐report, and respondents are segmented into five groups: spectators, athletes, coaches, officials, and other participants (e.g. media, medical staff). The daily and aggregate spend for each segment in each economic sector is calculated and compared. Regression analysis tests differences among segments for each economic sector.

Participants account for 39 per cent of aggregate spend; coaches are the biggest spenders; athletes spend relatively little. The segments spend differently on hospitality, private transportation, grocery, and retail, with spectators spending significantly more than the participant groups on hospitality and private transportation, and significantly less on groceries and merchandise. Spending in sectors normally associated with celebration and festivity accounts for only 8 per cent of total spend.

Findings are derived from a single event, but are consistent with other work, suggesting that inadequate attention is given to opportunities for festive celebration, especially among athletes.

Coaches are a particularly useful target market for retailers, whereas hoteliers and service stations should target their marketing at spectators. Event organizers should do more to build festivals.

This paper identifies the ways that different segments organize their spending at an event, and demonstrates that greater attention to festivals could enhance a sport event's overall impact.

Advances in military medical care have facilitated a reduction of fatalities in the global war on terror, relative to previous conflicts. The physical and psychological trauma of returning personnel remain a challenge, and poor physical and psychological health have been shown to affect quality of life (QOL). The purpose of this paper is to validate the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire amongst wounded, injured and ill military personnel, and to determine the characteristics of distinct groups found in this sample.

In total, 52 male and female military personnel (34.69+7.63 years, n=51) completed 24 items of the WHOQOL-BREF. Principal component analysis using the direct oblimin rotation was used to determine the factor structure of the WHOQOL-BREF and k-means cluster analysis was used to determine QOL characteristics of the separate groups.

The WHOQOL-BREF is a reliable tool for measuring QOL for American military personnel. However, the psychometric structure of the WHOQOL-BREF in this sample differed from the original domains. The first cluster analysis based on the original domains produced two clusters: a group of 12 that had poor QOL, and a group of 40 that had relatively good QOL except for the physical domain. The second cluster analysis differed in independence and access/social support only.

Although the sample was small for principal component analysis, the investigators chose to proceed with this procedure, because objective indicators such as measures of sampling adequacy and communalities met or exceeded acceptable thresholds.

Rehabilitation programs for military ill, injured and wounded should contain components that promote independence and self-actualization.

The rampant toxic gaming environment in most major esports games has become a challenge in maintaining gamers’ loyalty to the game. Guided by the theory of stress and coping, this study aims to investigate how and under what condition esports gamers’ perceived risk of toxicity may affect game brand loyalty through the moderated mediation effects of game brand identification, self-efficacy, and perceived support from game brand.

The moderated mediation model was tested using the conditional process analysis (N = 311). The moderating effects of game brand identification on the mediated processes were tested in the model.

The authors found that self-efficacy and perceived support from game brand were critical mediators between the perceived risk of toxicity and game brand loyalty. However, these mediating effects varied depending on the level of game brand identification.

This study took the step forward by theorizing and empirically examining the relationship between perceived risk of toxicity and consumption outcome by considering both internal and social coping resources and game brand identification, among Generation Z and Millennial gamers in the esports context.